Fives
by sabotouri
Summary: There are five times Alexis catches her father with Beckett.
1. Chapter 1

She's late getting home and if she didn't know any better, she'd just slip in through the front door soundlessly and go to bed. But she does know better and because of that, she makes as much noise as possible when she gets home, waking him up on purpose.

"You're late," he grumbles, rolling off the couch, dark circles present once again under his eyes.

Alexis Castle smiles at her father as she pulls her coat off and hangs it by the door. He crosses the living room and kisses her forehead, mumbling something about food while she takes a seat in the kitchen.

"You're drunk," she says, taking a sip from water he sets in front her. He quirks an eyebrow upwards before shrugging and turning the oven on. She spies a familiar handbag hanging on the chair next to her and grins. "So will Kate be coming back for her purse or is she still here?"

Castle tenses visibly, his hand slipping off the freezer door. Alexis is quite pleased with herself for noticing and even more pleased when Beckett walks in and, without stopping, turns on her heel and walks back out.

"Hi, Kate!" Alexis calls after her, attempting (and failing) to stifle a giggle. Castle rolls his eyes as he places cookie dough on the pan and washes his hands. He leans against the counter, crosses his arms, and surveys his daughter.

"You look entirely too pleased with yourself," he yawns, shuddering. She winks at him and swipes for some cookie dough before padding off towards her room.

"At least she was clothed this time!" she calls back and Castle can't help but agree.

At least she was clothed this time.


	2. Chapter 2

It was a complete accident when Alexis felt Beckett up in the middle of the night, but that didn't stop both women from shouting out in surprise and jumping back as quickly as possible.

"Alexis!" Beckett screeched, crossing her arms over her chest. "What are you doing here?"

"I live here!" Alexis cried, turning the light on and then quickly back off when she saw her father and his girlfriend in a very _precarious_ position. "DAD! WE EAT ON THAT TABLE!"

"Go back to your room!" Castle bellowed, his face pink from a combination of exertion and embarrassment. He pulled the tablecloth up, sending the centerpiece skidding to floor, and wrapped it around them, his shoulders shaking with laughter.

"This isn't funny!" Beckett said, her lips quivering into a smile. Alexis ran out as fast as she could, her hands over her face, fake gagging the entire way back to her room.

The door slammed and Castle turned back to face Beckett, who had pulled her knees up and was laughing silently. Castle shook his head, grinning, and kissed her neck.

"Come on," he said, picking her up, tablecloth and all. "I guess I'll lock the door next time, I didn't even hear her come in." He kicked the door to his room shut behind them.

Safe in her room, Alexis flopped down her on her bed and pulled out her phone to text her friend Hannah.

"That's twice in one week," she wrote. "Scarred for life."

A second later, the reply came:

=)


	3. Chapter 3

Alexis was delirious with exhaustion, having been up for nearly twenty-four hours at that point, and as such, she wasn't paying attention when she walked into Beckett's room and practically ran into her father.

Hunched over Kate's supine form, Castle's shoulders were shaking with sobs, soundless and agonizing, his hands clutching at the blanket draped over her knees.

She didn't know what to do. She was horrified; in sixteen years, she'd seen her father cry once and at that time, all the nine year old Alexis had known to do was stroke his hair and catch his tears.

Castle collapsed into his daughter's lap immediately when she perched on the edge of the bed. He twisted the hem of her jacket between his fingers and rested his forehead on her knees.

Alexis swallowed the lump in her throat and gently shushed him, running her fingers through his hair.

"It's okay, Dad. She's going to be fine."

He shook his head, his words getting lost in deep, shuddering breaths.

"Daddy-"

"Alexis, I swear, if she wakes up," he breathed, wiping his eyes. "If she wakes up…"

"I know, Dad. I know."


	4. Chapter 4

This time is no accident, and as such, she avoids detection with a little more grace than usual. Slipping in through the door right before it closes behind her dad, Alexis hides easily in the washing alcove right inside the room.

"It's Thursday," Castle says, setting fresh flowers down at Kate's bedside. "It's raining, and it's starting to get cooler. I wrote a little bit today, but nothing of any substance."

He adjusts the blanket that is draped over her knees, a soft blue duvet that Laney had brought from Kate's apartment after the first week. Alexis rocks back and forth on her heels. She'd been watching her father dote over Beckett's supine form for almost a week now and couldn't stand not knowing what he was doing anymore.

"Alexis is standing in the corner and thinks I don't know she's here, but she has the stealth of an elephant with arthritis. I'm going to take her home, but then I'll be back."

Castle stands up and takes his daughter by the elbow, leading her out with a small smirk on his face.

Maybe she'll leave the espionage to the professionals.


	5. Chapter 5

The last time she walks in on them nearly paralyzes her, because he's down on one knee and definitely isn't tying his shoe or picking something up.

Kate isn't crying or anything schmaltzy like that, but Castle has a huge goofy grin on his face and the longer she stands there, the bigger it grows, until he actually _giggles_.

She'd seen the ring in his briefcase the week before and had put it out of her mind until that minute, watching it glint in the box that sat in his hand.

"Dad?" she asks, stepping the rest of the way into the dining room. He jumps like someone has kicked him and runs across the room and pull her into a hug that practically cracks her ribs.

"She said yes!" he laughs and his happiness stuns her; though she was used to his boyish giddyness, this is a true and real joy that she was unfamiliar with.

Over his shoulder, she catches Kate's eye, who smiles with the tiniest hint of trepidation, like she's waiting for Alexis's approval before celebrating.

So Alexis smiles back and nods the tiniest bit.

Kate grins back.


End file.
